Fuji Finepix T400 Review

Mid Zoom Digital Cameras

16 Megapixels 10x Zoom

Dimensions: 104.2 x 58.5 x 28.5mm Weight: 159g

Good Points: Build quality, lens power for the price, value for money

Bad Points: Some pictures look a little soft in places

Overview

The Fuji Finepix T400 offers a lot of zoom in a small body. The 10x zoom gives you the flexibility to photograph the typical every day photo opportunities you are likely to encounter. The price is low for a camera with this length of lens. Add in the ability to shoot High Definition Movies and you have an attractive digital camera.

Aside from the longer lens the features on offer for a camera at this price point are about standard although there are one or two areas where the Finepix T400 has a slight edge over some of its rivals. For example it has a metal body, a 3 inch LCD screen and is capable of getting in a bit closer than a lot of cameras can for macro photography.

Fuji have put together a camera that is easy to use. This camera should be attractive to you if you are looking for some extra zoom power, a low price and a camera that is straightforward.

Compared with other digital cameras at this price point the Finepix T400 has the following:

Plus Points

10x zoom lens

Image Stabilisation

Metal Body

Motion Panorama

High Definition Movies

3 inch LCD screen

3cm macro focus

Negative Points

No 3D photos

Why Buy the Fuji Finepix T400

The Finepix T400 delivers a lot of zoom at a low price, is easy to use and build quality is good.

Features

Megapixels and Zoom

The Fuji Finepix T400 has 16 megapixels and a 10x zoom lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to 28 - 280mm in 35mm format.

Memory Cards

For storing images you can use SD, SDHC or SDXC memory cards.

Image Stabilisation

Image Stabilisation has been built into the camera to help combat any unwanted picture blur caused by the camera moving while a picture is being taken.

Batteries

Power comes from a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Fuji estimates you should be able to take around 160 shots per charge. They supply a battery and charger as standard.

Movie Mode

You can record High Definition Movies with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. Zoom is available while a movie is being recorded, but sound is turned off while you are zooming in and out.

LCD Screen

The LCD screen is 3 inches in size. For this level of camera screen size tends to be split between cameras offering 3 inch screens and those offering smaller 2.7 inch screens. So when it comes to screen size the Finepix T400 gives you full value.

When the camera is placed in macro mode it is able to focus from 3cm away from your subject. This is another small plus point for the Finepix T400 compared to a lot of cameras available for around the same price.

Motion Panoramas

In panorama mode you can swing the camera round in an arc and take three pictures. The camera guides you to the right position for each picture and then stitches them together into a single panoramic shot behind the scenes.

Aspect Ratios

You can choice between three different image formats. These are 4:3 (standard format for old fashioned televisions and computer screens), 3:2 (perfect for 6 x 4 inch prints) and 16:9 (for viewing on widescreen televisions).

Image Quality

Picture Quality Summary

As you might expect you don't get quite the same picture quality with the Finepix T400 as you usually get with more expensive digital cameras. Taking into account the price of this camera and the length of lens picture quality is quite acceptable. The key is not to make over large prints or view the images at full size on a computer screen. Quality should be good enough in most instances for snapshot prints and Internet photo sharing sites.

While picture quality may not be perfect most of the issues mentioned below should not be noticeable unless you make large sized prints.

Outdoor Scenic Shot 1

One of the challenges this scene presents is it has a lot of contrast. There are the very light colours of the boats and plenty of darker, more shaded areas too. This is a tricky test for the camera and one that the Finepix T400 finds quite tough. In fairness the shot was taken in bright sunlight, but the camera finds in particularly difficult to show a lot of detail in these areas. In this first test shot it is also noticeable how the sharpness in the centre of the shot slips away quite quickly towards the edges.

Outdoor Scenic Shot 2

For a snapshot digital camera with a longer than standard lens the Finepix T400 does a fair job in this test. All digital cameras find it hard to produce a shot with edge to edge sharpness in this scene. Although far from perfect the Finepix T400 manages to match most of the better cameras in this price category.

Outdoor Scenic Shot 3

Sharpness in the centre of the photo is much clearer than it is as you move out towards the edges of the shot. Considering the shot was taken on a windy day the camera does do a good job of freezing the movement of the trees and avoiding extra blur in those areas. There is also some evidence of purple fringing.

Outdoor Building

The first four shots have been taken with the camera some way away from the scene photographed. In each instance there has been a fall off in sharpness away from the centre of the shot. Whilst it is true that cameras in the lower price bracket do tend to be weaker in this area the fall off seen in these picture is more pronounced than is often the case.

Outdoor Portrait

Moving in closer removes the issue of the shots becoming softer away from the centre. Although this shot was taken in the shade with the cloudy / shady white balance setting being used I would still like to have seen a bit more colour showing in the face.

Indoor Portrait With Flash

Taking the camera indoors where the lighting is not so bright gives us the option of using flash or attempting to take a picture without it. Starting off with the test using flash the Finepix T400 manages to produce more or less the right amount of light. The hair is slightly dark, but the quality of the shot compares well with most cameras in this price bracket.

Indoor Portrait Without Flash

To avoid using flash and getting a picture with noise levels low enough means the amount of light available will need to be good. This test picture is taken close to a window. Moving away from the window with this camera would have meant that noise levels would have taken the edge off the definition. Using brighter conditions the Finepix T400 is able to produce a shot with very low noise levels.

Macro

Macro quality tends to be fairly standard for this type of digital camera. Quality is fine for close in snaps. That is likely to be the level you are looking for if you are interested in this type of camera.

Colours

Blues and greens are quite strong. This bodes well if you are planning to take plenty of scenic pictures as you are likely to get pictures with deep blue skies and plenty of depth of colour for foliage.

Noise

This is an area where you can see a more obvious difference between cheaper and more expensive cameras, but only when light is poor or there are particularly shady areas in your shot. You will also see more noise if you increase the ISO rating.

Top Rated Cameras in this Category

Nikon Coolpix S9300 Rating 86/100

For a camera that is small enough to take anywhere the Nikon Coolpix S9300 has a lot of features packed into it. If you are planning to take a holiday GPS tracking will tell you where you were when a picture was taken. The length of the zoom lens also gives you plenty of scope when it comes to picture opportunities. Although there is plenty of completion in this category the picture quality on offer here combined with the features makes this camera very attractive indeed. Recommended.

The Canon Powershot SX260 HS is one of the very best digital cameras in this category. In fact if you are happy to miss out on features such as 3D photography and 360 degree panoramas it is very hard to beat. It has a great set of features packed into its relatively compact body size and picture quality helps to make it stand out from the competition. Although it is one of the more expensive cameras in this field it still offers good value for money.

If you are looking for a simple, pocket camera that gives you some extra zoom and takes high quality snapshots the Panasonic Lumix DMC SZ1 is a very good choice. Compared to other cameras with similar features available at around the same price this camera has the edge when it comes to picture quality. It takes sharp, colourful photos and offers excellent value for money. Recommended.

Related Pages

Review Date

Review Date: May 2012

Verdict

The Fuji Finepix T400 might not end up winning any awards, but if you are shopping for a camera with some extra lens power and you do not want to pay over the odds then this camera is an option well worth considering. Fuji have placed the emphasis on more traditional features and steered clear of some of the more recent buzz features. As long as you are not looking for features such as 360 degree panoramas and 3D photography this camera offers very good value for money.

Shutter Lag Times

Handling

Considering the length of the lens unit this is a surprisingly small digital camera. The layout of the camera is quite simple. This gives enough room for finger and thumb placement.

Flash Positioning

The flash unit is situated in the top corner. This positioning means you need to take a bit of extra care to make sure a stray finger does not block out light from the flash.

LCD Screen Quality

Unless sunlight or another bright light is shining directly onto the LCD screen it is easy enough to see. Screen quality is about standard for this level of digital camera.

Turn on Time and Shutter Delay

Apart from being slow to turn on and take the first picture the Finepix T400 posted a set of respectable times. In fact for a single shot the time recorded was a lot quicker than expected.

Design, Build Quality and Finish

Although the lens unit dominates the front of the camera it is still smaller than you might expect considering the zoom power it offers. Other than that the design is fairly typical for a small compact camera. The edges are rounded off to reduce any stark, rectangular look. Build quality is good at this price point. Unlike a lot of cheaper cameras this one has a body made out of metal. The black review model had a matt finish.

Camera Controls

The only controls on the top of the camera are the on / off button and the shutter button.

On the back of the camera are the zoom control, a button to review images and two further buttons. One changes the LCD screen display. The other button controls shooting movies. There is also a main control section. In this section are controls for exposure compensation, setting flash, activating the self timer, placing the camera in macro mode, accessing the menu system and confirming a setting.